James Madison University
EN-1: Student Educators Program

The University Recreation Center (UREC) offers one hour, no cost programs on nutrition and wellness, designed and facilitated by UREC student staff members. The goal is to have these students apply what they have learned in the classroom to positively impact the health and well-being of the JMU community. Students determine all program names, descriptions, learning outcomes, general outlines, and final presentations with the assistance of the Assistant Director for Fitness & Wellness, University Recreation and Wellness Student Managers. Examples of some of the programs specifically designed to address environment sustainability are below.

(1) Examples of Nutrition and Wellness environmental sustainability-related programs offered in Spring 2021 include:

Demonstration Cooking Classes: UREC offers 5-6 demonstration cooking classes each week during the fall and spring semesters. Each class involves participants in the preparation process for all recipes. They use the hydroponic herb garden located in the demonstration kitchen. Growing herbs decreases our reliance on the purchase of fresh herbs during our grocery shopping trips.

Passionate about the Planet: The environment is one of the most overlooked public health concerns and an issue that affects all of us. We only get one Earth so come learn how to protect and preserve our cosmological home.

The Race to Zero Waste: Do you find yourself spending a lot of money at the grocery store, only to find you are throwing most it away? About 1/3 of food produced in the world for human consumption every year gets wasted. Learn easy tips on how to save, plan, and store your food to make sure there is zero waste at every meal!

The Nutrition & Wellness programs are open to all JMU students. The programs also fulfill important components for students in General Education Cluster Five: Individuals in the Human Community, and specifically in the HTH 100: Personal Wellness course, which enrolls approximately 1,800 students per semester. In 2018-19 (the most representative year prior to the pandemic), there were 6,216 total registrations in the Nutrition & Wellness programs.

1) Environmental Sustainability - Dining Services Sustainability Interns
The sustainability internship program through Aramark is focused on advancing sustainability through dining-related activities. The dining locations are used as information dissemination points for peer-to-peer student messaging. Interns can also develop their own initiatives based on their area of study. Examples of student projects include the farmers markets and reusable container promotion events.

Students apply for these positions and are competitively selected. They report to Dining Service's Sustainability Coordinator and Marketing Manager. The student job position was sent out across the University and posted online under "Careers" with Aramark. A resume was required, and in-person interviews were conducted. Students were selected based on specified qualifications, specifications, and skills.

Onboarding includes initial education about current programs, roles and responsibilities, as well as shadowing of both current sustainability interns and the Sustainability Coordinator. Each intern is involved with peer-to-peer education on content, such as local foods, waste reduction techniques, educational tabling, and sustainability events. They are provided and trained on communications for each event. Training includes individual and group components. Students are mentored and work alongside the Sustainability Coordinator in order to independently implement peer outreach programs. The primary target is students who have meal plans, although we communicate to all students and staff.

Number of trained student educators (1st program) 2.0

Number of weeks the student educators program is active annually (1st program) 32.0

Average or expected number of hours worked weekly per trained student educator (1st program) 5.0

Total number of hours worked annually by trained student educators (1st program) 320.0

Website URL where information about the student educators program is available (1st program)
https://jmu.campusdish.com/Sustainability/WhatWeAreDoing

2) SOGIE (Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Expression) Peer Education

The SOGIE Peer education team facilitate programs on LGBTQ+ inclusion. These programs usually include about 20 minutes of facilitated content or lecture, and then about 40 minutes of small group discussion through scenarios. Peer Educator training focuses on the content of programs (LGBTQ+ identities, inclusion strategies, addressing microaggressions, etc.), public speaking skills, and facilitation skills. During the COVID pandemic, training also included virtual facilitation skills such as using Zoom and WebEx.

These programs predominately are requested by faculty and staff and are facilitated during an academic course. However, some programs are facilitated for clubs or organizations on campus. The SOGIE Peer Educators also host some workshops outside of class that are open to the entire campus community, such as a Trans 101 workshop and basics on sexual orientation.

Number of trained student educators (2nd program) 5.0

Number of weeks the student educators program is active annually (2nd program) 20.0

Average or expected number of hours worked weekly per trained student educator (2nd program) 5.0

Total number of hours worked annually by trained student educators (2nd program) 500.0

Website URL where information about the student educators program is available (2nd program)
https://www.jmu.edu/studentaffairs/departments/diversity-equity-inclusion/SOGIE/student-involvement.shtml

3) The Alternative Break student staff coordinators train Alternative Break student leaders (ABLT) to lead breaks in pairs. As part of training, the coordinators and leaders conducted two days of service. The ABLT in the fall focused on cleaning up a local pond and ensuring a local children’s educational facility was kept safe with new mulch around the playground. In the spring, they focused on responsible consumption by working with a local thrift store. In the spring semester, the 24 break leaders led day-long alternative break programs with local community partners focused on the following issues:
- economy: maintaining the grounds at an enrichment center and therapeutic equine program to safely serve those with physical and intellectual disabilities and building a wheelchair ramp for a local homeowner in an attempt to reduce inequalities,
- societal concerns: ensuring a local children’s educational facility was kept safe with additional cleaning as they re-opened and building community gardens for a rural health clinic, and
- biosphere: mulching, cleaning a pond, maintaining a trail, planting American Chestnut trees, and general gardening.

Number of trained student educators (3rd program) 30.0

Number of weeks, on average, the student educators programs are active annually (3rd program) 30.0

Average or expected number of hours worked weekly per student educator (3rd program) 9.0

Total number of hours worked annually by trained student educators (3rd program) 1,170.0

Data counted toward credit:
Nutrition & Wellness information provided by Holly Bailey, Assistant Director for Fitness & Wellness, University Recreation and entered by Amanda Bodle, ISNW. Data for FY 18-19.

Additional data not counted toward credit:
Dining Services peer educator information provided and reviewed Benjamin Rosenberger, Aramark Sustainability Coordinator. Data for FY 20-21.

SOGIE peer educator information provided by Jennifer Iwerks, Assistant Director, SOGIE Education & Support at the time of completion of this credit. Entered by Essa Paterson, ISNW, March 12, 2021. Revised by Jennifer Iwerks and updated by Amanda Bodle, September 21, 2021. Data for FY 20-21.

Alternative Break student leaders information provided and entered by Steve Grande, Director, Community Service-Learning. Data for FY 20-21.

Due to the pandemic, the most reliable, most recent data was reported by each unit at the time of data entry completion. To avoid double counting people who participated in multiple programs, the number of students reached is estimated from the number of Health and Wellness registrations only. Only 50% of those registrations were counted for credit to account for the fact that some individuals may have registered for multiple Health and Wellness programs. All other programs were entered in the "additional programs" section with the numeric values not entered for credit so as not to double count. The headcount from IPEDS 12 mo in 18-19 was entered to align with the year for the Health and Wellness reporting.